Redwood

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From the multi-million-selling historian, the remarkable, unknown Cold War story of how one spy saved the world from nuclear war

The year is 1981. Tehran is in violent turmoil in the wake of the Iranian Revolution. The Soviets are planning to overthrow the Ayatollah's fledgling Islamist regime. If they do so, one response from America - unknown to the public - would be to use nuclear weapons. This is the story of how at the height of the Cold War, one mysterious double agent, known to MI6 as 'Redwood', revealed the Kremlin's secret plot and prevented Armageddon.

This unsung, hitherto unknown hero of the Cold War, a six-foot-four Russian intelligence officer had a problem, a sexual secret, one that if revealed, would turn his life upside-down. So he reached out to MI6, believing it to have the only solution - in return for the KGB's secrets. Then, facing exposure, he demanded that the British smuggle him out of Iran in a high-stakes escape plan.

This is the gripping tale of one man's courage; about friendship, marriage, betrayal and sexual dysfunction; and about how decisions made in secret can have huge, long-term ramifications.

Drawing on never-before-seen material from multiple countries, and interviews with officers from MI6 and MI5, the KGB and CIA, Redwood lifts the lid on how espionage really works, and on an unknown and major Cold War victory.

Book details and technical specifications

Format: Paperback / softback
ISBN13: 9780241753569
Published: September 2026

Number of pages: 464
Width: 154 mm
Height: 234 mm
Depth: 36 mm

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd